'Heartbroken' Conor McGregor reflects on UFC 196: 'I'll never shy away from a challenge'

LAS VEGAS – Conor McGregor said he’s “heartbroken” after the first defeat of his UFC career, but he doesn’t plan to let it keep him down.

The UFC featherweight champion, who moved up two weight classes to fight Nate Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC) at welterweight in Saturday’s UFC 196 headliner, kept his head high following his first loss in more than five years. McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) faced reporters at the post-fight news conference following his second-round submission loss, and while clearly hurt by the outcome, he said he wouldn’t be broken by it.

“It’s a bitter, bitter pill to swallow,” McGregor said. “I took a shot, I went at it – I feel I was simply inefficient with my energy. Usually I fight a man in the division I’m champion in, and they crumble under those shots (I landed). But Nate took them very well, the weight I think allowed him to take those shots well.

“I think with a little bit of an adjustment and recognition that the bigger man must be a bit more efficient with your striking, you must not put everything into your shots. I was simply inefficient with my energy; I made some errors. Hats off to Nate. He fought very well. A lot of people would have crumbled under those shots.”

Although he was defeated, McGregor still holds the distinction of UFC champion. He made the unprecedented move of jumping 25 pounds in fighting weight to take on Diaz in a short-notice bout after original opponent Rafael dos Anjos withdrew due to injury, but the risk did not pay off.

The result was certainly a blow to McGregor’s aura as a nearly unstoppable force, but he said the loss wouldn’t discourage him from making big moves with his career again down the line.

“This is the game: We win some we lose some, (but) I will never shy away from a challenge, I will never shy away from defeat,” McGregor said. “This is part of the game. I am happy to come out there, continue to stay in this fight. I had many chances to not to this and sit and wait, but I went in and I took a fight and it didn’t pay off. This is the fight business. It’s another day and I’ll come back.

“I enjoyed the whole experience. When dos Anjos pulled and I got Nate, I was actually relishing the opportunity to step in there against Nate. I’ve always enjoyed Nick (Diaz) and Nate and their fighting approach, and even the build-up, I had a lot of fun listening to the things he was saying. I had fun; it was a fun fight in there. He stayed in there, he talked, we were verbal and it was an enjoyable fight. I would have liked to be more efficient and not give toward the end of the second, but we live and we learn.”

If McGregor wanted to exit the spotlight for a while after UFC 196, most would understand. Trying to avoid the reality of the loss would do no benefit though, McGregor said, and that’s why he intends to get back to work soon, perhaps with a defense of his 145-pound belt at UFC 200 in July.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we can either run from adversity or we can face our adversity head-on and conquer it,” McGregor said. “That’s what I plan to do. It wasn’t ideal, I got caught, it is what it is, I’ll face it, I’ll take it on the chin and I’ll carry on, I’ll learn from it. That’s it.

“(Fighting at) 145, it’s a cut, it’s intense, but I make it and I make it every time. I think 145 will be next. I’ll defend my belt.”

For complete coverage of UFC 196, check out the UFC Events section of the site.